Monster Hunter: Awakening
by Drakorn
Summary: After the defeat of the storm god Amatsumagatsuchi, Thoren and his companions are confronted with a new danger: The settlements are attacked by hoards of monsters, led by elder dragons. But is this truly the real threat? Or is this just a distraction to keep the hunters away from something much bigger, something much more darker. Something that can determine the world's fate.
1. Prologue

**Hi there! Welcome to my first Monster Hunter fan fiction. Now, before I start, I need to warn you: English is not my native language so if you see something you really don't like feel free to point it out to me! Now, some people might see the little easter egg I put in about Minnegard Town, Dondruma and Loc Lac. If you do, good job! Also, elder dragons are present in the story. But I portrayed them slightly different, so- You will see! Enjoy!**

**Prologue**

Night fell over Port Tanzia. It was a night filled with millions of stars that glanced down like sparkling eyes. The port was just blazed in light. Various hunters were coming and going. Some entered or exited the transport boats that would bring them to their hunting locations, some were having a drink or a small feast in the felyne restaurant. The little cat-like creatures surely were busy the entire evening, some of them were even collapsing due to the immense work. But the wave of hungry or thirsty hunter didn't end, it never did.

All of this action didn't matter to old Amjam. He was sitting on one of those small benches close to the guild stand, and stared into the stars. The night might have looked beautiful, but only he felt that something was wrong. Something was just not right, he sensed it with every cell in his body. His grey-blue eyes looked tired to the feasting hunters, and remembered the times when he was joining them. Those times never let him go. The small village Kokoto, or the enormous Minnegard Town, it didn't matter. He remembered every second of that part of his life. Especially his last hunt was in his mind yet. When he and his fellow companions went up to that castle covered in shadows.

"Grandpa?" a voice asked. Amjam looked up.

"Ah, Lelia." The old man smiled. His granddaughter truly insisted coming with him, when he was about to leave Kokoto. Of course he couldn't refuse. He was the only one she had left in this hard and cruel world. And she was the only one he had left in his life.

"What are you doing out here again?" Lelia asked.

"Oh, nothing, I am just observing," the old man said, and smiled. His granddaughter was always so worried about him. Well, she didn't want anything happening to her old grandfather. Some hunters would laugh at him for retiring from hunt, but after what happened back then at castle Shrade, he couldn't wield his blade anymore, without thinking about the words, the lord of darkness addressed to him, seconds before his demise. And after the event at Minnegarde Town, no, he would never hunt again, no matter what they offered him. But still he was respected by many hunters. Everyone knew what he and his companions did.

"You really should come home," Lelia said.

"Well, maybe you are right dear. How long am I sitting here already? You know how I tend to forget time."

"You're sitting here for two hours now. Are you sure that you're all right?" She looked truly worried.

"Yes, yes, I'm just fine," he said, but then reconsidered his thought. Was he all right? Was he really? Wasn't there this dark memory nagging at him all the time since he returned from castle Shrade, and that he hadn't told anyone since? Was he truly all right? Or did he just try to hide this thought somewhere inside his mind? Wasn't it finally time to tell someone? Maybe it was the best thing to do in fact. Maybe it was time to trust someone.

"Lelia, my dear," he said; "Actually, there is something worrying me."

"What is it?" she quickly asked.

"I need to tell you something. But first, let's get home."

"As you wish," she said, and slowly helped him to his feet. Amjam felt slightly offended everytime someone helped him to his feet. It caused him to truly miss his life as a hunter where he could move as fast as a Kelbi, if there was an occasion for that. But then again he appreciated his granddaughter's help. That showed him that there still was someone who cared for him.

The journey to their small house in the very back of the port was short. Some hunters passed them occasionally, greeting them respectively. Amjam just nodded. He was tired, and worried about what he would reveal now. Again he looked at the stars, as if he was hoping seeing help in them.

The house was quickly reached. Lelia quickly opened the door. They were by far the only people in the port who didn't have a felyne at their house, which Amjam was thankful for. Since Ken, his felyne companion demised of old age, he didn't want another one. Ken was the one and only. Lelia closed the door. Amjam walked slowly to his bed, and sat down. Before he started speaking he looked at his rusty armor standing in the corner. He didn't wear it for years now, but he wouldn't dare throwing it away. The fire-red rathalos set was glowing in the candle light and the huge blade still looked like it could smash a khezu into pieces. What memories. But now those days were over.

"Have a seat please," he addressed Lelia, who slightly nodded and sat beside him. Amjam sighed and started.

"Have you ever wondered what actually happened at castle Shrade?"

"But...doesn't everyone know?"

"They only know the rough summary. There is something, I didn't tell anyone back then, and still didn't."

"Well, what is it? You know you can tell me anything grandpa," she smiled.

"Well, alright then. Then I shall tell you," Amjam said, and remembered. He remembered the dark night covered with clouds, the tight atmosphere as they approached the abandoned castle, and the very moment they came face-to-face with this creature.

"I will never forget this battle," he said; "I will never forget how the shades around us seemed to grow longer. We knew that he was watching us. We knew that he was there. We could feel it, this aura of pure evil was just intense."

"How did he look like?" Lelia asked.

"Sorry, what?"

"You never fully described how he looked like. I only heard some rumors, but no full description." Amjam still had this image in his head. Every time he saw it, his heart shrugged and shivered.

"Fatalis, the lord of darkness. I will never forget him. He seemed to be completely made out of shadows. Pitch-black scales, wings like nightmare shadows, and his eyes...his eyes. They were glowing red like fire, which seemed to pure out of it. No, we instantly knew that this being wasn't an ordinary monster."

"But aren't all the elder dragons different to all the other monsters?"

"Yes, they are indeed. But this devil was by far the worst. The battle was long and bloody. Shiku was just torn apart in the very first minute. This young lad didn't even see that coming. At least it happened fast. Nothing helped against this monster. He seemed indestructible. And when I looked into his eyes, I shivered in fear. I never saw so much coldness and hatred in the eyes of any creature. Throar discovered that some of the ballistae were still working, but even that didn't help. The only result was that we enraged him. And Throar paid with his life. Before he even could notice, the beast cast down a fireball on him. He was nothing but ashes in a matter of seconds."

"But how did you defeat him then?" Lelia asked. Amjam remembered that part better than anything else.

"Me and Libren looked for shelter right under the main wall, the wall that was just in front of the main building of the castle. We already sent our last prayers to him, when we discovered something. Directly below us, there was a dragonator."

"A dragonator? You mean, a dragonator like they had it in Dondruma and the old fortress?"

"Yes, exactly that. We just couldn't believe how lucky we were. Libren quickly examined it, and found out that it was still intact. We waited for the moment. The creature came closer and closer, until it reached us. But then we discovered that it would never be that stupid and take the last steps. Instead, the dragon prepared to cast a fire ball. I quickly took out a flash bomb, the last one I had, and threw it right between his eyes. We quickly covered our eyes when the explosion happened. When we looked up, Fatalis stumbled in front, still unconscious from the flash. That was our chance. We quickly ran to the dragonator, and with our both strengths, we activated it." Amjam thought about what happened after that. In a more silent tone, he continued.

"The first thing we heard, was a strong crushing of bones, then an enormous scream of pain and anger. It nearly made us deaf. We looked down. The dragonator impaled the dragon right through the heart. With all its strengths it tried to free itself, but his powers decreased and decreased. Then the dragonator slowly went back into its position, and Fatalis collapsed to the ground. But for some unknown reason, he still seemed to be alive. We couldn't explain that. The machine went directly through his heart. As naive as we were we went down to him, in order to check what was wrong. We approached him slowly. And right before we were almost one meter in front of him, it happened."

"What happened?" Lelia asked.

"He-He," Amjam found it very difficult to say that one part.

"Come on grandpa, what happened?"

"He stared at us one more time, and then, he simply vanished."

"He vanished?"

"Yeas, my dear. As we were about to strike a necessary final blow, he looked at us again, with those flaming eyes, then he stopped moving, and his body vanished. It just dissolved into shadows."

"Strange. What do you think this means?"

"I don't know my dear, but since that day I am worried. I am worried that Fatalis is still out there, waiting for a revenge. Soon after the battle, Minnegard Town got attacked."

"Yes, I remember hearing about that."

"There were only a few survivors. It just came out of nowhere. The few survivors report of a huge red dragon surrounded by flames. His roar caused meteorites to cast down on the city. How can such a big city be destroyed that fast, and that suddenly?"

"Well, Dondruma and Loc Lac also met this fate," Lelia sighed.

"How right you are. And there are always only a few survivors left. The attacks just came out of nowhere."

"I guess this will always be a mystery."

"If it was an elder dragon, it needed to be one with enormous powers in order to destroy an entire city."

"What do you think grandpa?"

"I don't know Lelia, I am just worried. I am worried that even the strongest hunters can't face against a power like that. All three cities were full of hunters when it happened." Amjam stopped talking. He was tired. In this age it wasn't really a surprise. Lelia noticed.

"Alright then, old man. Time to go to sleep. You can finish tomorrow."

"If I would be younger I wouldn't tolerate such behavior at all, young lady," Amjam laughed. Lelia just smiled, and was about to blow out the candles. But then she suddenly shrugged.

"What is it?" Amjam asked. Lelia didn't reply. Instead, she only looked out of the window.

"Lelia?"

"What is that?" she whispered. Amjam slowly got up, and went to the window.

"What on Earth?" he asked, and opened the door. Various hunters were gathered outside, staring out on the sea. When Amjam and Lelia got out, they also saw what the hunters looked at. Far outside the sea, there where the great ocean started, a red beam of light was rising up in the air. It got brighter and brighter the more it went up. When it reached a fairly high point, a sudden bang was heard amongst everyone. And then, the beam exploded. The explosion was so big and loud, that it was surely heard on every shore. The hunters shrugged.

"Grandpa?" Lelia asked; "What was that?" But Amjam just stared out on the sea, unable to believe what he just saw. The other hunters didn't see it, but he did. He saw it, and he was the only one truly frightened.

"No," he whispered; "That cannot be."

The old abandoned tower stood there in silence, and was shrouded in grey fog. No noise was heard, and no wind blew. The tower was as quiet as a huge crypt with nothing but death inside it.

Centuries ago this tower was the most important outpost in the entire region. It offered a huge outlook from the jungle way along to the great ocean. On the other side the tower looked at the entire great desert in the far distance, and way behind the peaks of the snowy mountains were clearly visible.

Many people used to inhabit this place. But now there was not a single human left. Not even monsters lived here. A few years ago there used to be herds of aptonoth grassing on the field in front of the tower. Swarms of remobra, great thunderbugs and giaprey inhabited the inside. Some large monster lived there too. But that was already long ago. Now, there was only him, only him.

Fatalis stared down from the top of the tower. From this point he could see everything. His glance was easily able to cut through the deepest fog and the darkest night. He could see every insect way down in the jungle, and he could see every eagle way back in the snowy mountains. This spot was just perfect. His enormous wings rested on his back. He wouldn't need them now.

The top of the tower was the only spot without fog. The moon shined on his snow-white scales, which made them glimmer in the light like diamonds. He took a deep breath. The air on top of the tower was the clearest in the entire region here, and it was also the quietest area. If an insect would jump from somewhere, he would hear it.

A sudden sound at the entrance to the top caused him to turn around. As he saw who was standing there, he slowly began to walk to the center. When he reached it he stopped and looked down at his visitor.

"You kept me waiting," he said calmly.

"I beg for forgiveness master," Kirin said; "But there was way too much going on." She immediately bowed in front of the dragon.

"Indeed there was," he said; "So many losses."

"That is true. Ceadeus, Lao Shan Lung, Yama Tsukami, Rukodiora and several others."

"How many are left?" he asked, and remembered the loss of his fellow servants. He felt each demise with his own body, not a pleasant feeling indeed.

"Alatreon, Kushala Daora, Raviente, and some others retreated into their lairs."

"What about my young brothers?"

"Same goes to them. They all have been weakened very badly."

"So is it then. Are there any elders still fighting?"

"Yes, there is one indeed. But I'm afraid his fight will soon be over."

"I feel that as well. A true shame indeed."

"If he should fall there won't be any elder left to continue fighting. The ones still alive are licking their wounds."

"Let them lick. It is unwise to go into battle with no chances of succeeding." Kirin nodded slightly. Her white aura started to glow more, and small blue lightning surrounded her horn.

"So you can feel it too, can you Kirin?" Fatalis asked.

"Yes, indeed," she said; "When will we begin?"

"When the sign appears. We will not proceed until the sign doesn't appear. But soon, very soon, the stars will stand in the correct positions, and we can finally succeed." With this words he looked up into the sky. The stars, yes indeed. How long did he wait now? How long did he wait for them to stand in the correct order? It surely must have been a very long time, even for him. It was certain that something was about to happen. The stars were whispering to him.

Suddenly, as if he knew it, something happened on the ocean.

"Look, master!" Kirin yelled and stared to the ocean. Fatalis felt satisfaction in his body. A huge beam of light came up from the ocean, and extended far into the heavens. Then, an enormous explosion could be heard.

"Yes," he said; "The time has come."

"What are your wishes, master?"

"Travel to each remaining elder, and tell them: The time has come. You may begin."

"As you wish, master!" Kirin yelled, and before even a second passed, she was gone. Fatalis nodded in satisfaction. Then he looked back to the ocean.

"Soon," he said; "Soon, these pathetic mortals will learn where their place is. Soon they will learn that this world doesn't belong to them. Soon, the end will be here!"

**Alright then, so, this was the prologue. Guys, I would really appreciate reviews here, because as I said already, English is not my native language, and I would really appreciate if you would point out some mistakes. Also, if you don't like something about the writing style or the story feel free to tell me! Well then, The only thing I can say now is: See you next time!**


	2. The Fury of the Storm God

**HEY! Welcome back to the first real chapter! I finally got to write again. Now, this part is longer, and I hope to make all parts as long as this one. This chapter is already with the main characters. Sorry if the second part is a bit comical, but that's only because of the character. Have fun!**

**The Fury of the Storm God**

The sky was covered with pitch-black clouds. The summit of the enormous mountain was covered in dark clouds. Nobody could see what was going on there. Even the various creatures of the mountains and forests were silent, including the zinogres. But everyone knew anyway what was about to happen this night. And it seemed like the monsters did as well. Here and there, a few lightnings struck the earth with a powerful roar of power. Every time a lightning stroke the people of Yukumo village shivered in fear, for they could sense whose responsibility it was. When would it finally be over? When would the vile creature leave them alone? Every village had their beast. This was theirs. And as many other villages before them, they were mistaking another creature to be the villain. Just like Moga village was mistaking a lagiacrus as cause for the earthquakes, Yukumo village was mistaking a zinogre for the various storms. Both villages turned out to be wrong. The real villain was something more terrifying, something way more terrifying.

"I cannot wait any longer," Brelian said and rose up from the stone he was sitting on. His heavy tigrex armor clustered under that movement; "When will the beast finally reveal itself?"

"Just a bit of patience," Aura replied, and putted her hand on his shoulder. The hunter turned around to face his companion.

"I am sorry Aura," he said; "But I just can't wait any longer. And think about Scorch on the cliff."

"Yes, you are right. But I'm pretty sure that nothing will happen to him. Don't forget that he has Cha Cha and Kayamba on his side."

"Oh yes, how can I forget those two?" Brelian laughed.

Thoren listened to them while looking into the far distance of the mountains. How he would love to join his friends in the conversation, but he needed to pay attention. This night was the ultimate night, he could feel it. Tonight was the final battle. This night it was either them or him.

He would never forget the day he came to Yukumo village. His carriage was covered in thick fog, and he barely could see anything. He already wondered when he would finally reach the destination. Then came the roars. Before he could even react, the zinogre rammed against the carriage. He got almost knocked over. When he managed to bring the carriage and his gargwa into control again, the thunder wolf wyvern vanished. But if he thought that that was the worst, he was terribly wrong. He remembered the enormous deadly winds coming up, the fog getting thicker and colder, and then the gigantic shadow besides him, there where the abyss was. The last thing he could remember before getting unconscious was a huge beam of light and an enormous explosion.

The next morning he woke up in front of the gates of Yukumo village. He still didn't know how he managed to get there. The monster didn't devour him? Why did it leave him alone? He didn't know the answer but he needed to find out. So he went to Shanayra, the village chief, a very young, but also very wise woman. She told him the legend about the storm god.

The storm god, Amatsumagatsuchi, was a mysterious being said to inhabit this region. But no one ever saw him actually. It was said that one day Amatsumagatsuchi would reveal himself to the world and express his never-ending rage. It was also said that he could control the weather itself and form it by his will.

All those stories seemed unbelievable to Thoren, but he was wrong. Oh, how wrong he was. After the incident, he decided still to follow his task the guild sent him for to this village: To investigate the mysterious storms. The stories of the storm god, were very interesting indeed, but they seemed to be nothing else, stories. So Thoren investigated, he hunted, he explored caves and grew stronger and stronger. Over the months he developed. And then he found the beast, the zinogre.

The battle was fierce and terrible. The entire night, Thoren was fighting the thunder wolf wyvern. He putted all his rage, all his energy and all his will to hunt into this fight. But still he took the entire night. Trees were falling, the zinogre was roaring like a true wyvern and Thoren was losing his strength. But then, after hours and hours of fighting, Thoren finally made the lucky blow. He remembered all too well how the final roar of the zinogre nearly exploded his ears. And then he was facing the corpse. He did it, he slew the thunder wolf wyvern, and now it became his armor. He still was proud of having accomplished that. An armor truly deserved.

But the storms did not stop. In fact, they became even stronger. Due to the increase in the number of storms and their power as well, the guild had to send more hunters. This was the moment where Thoren met Brelian, the hunter of Pokke, Aura, the huntress of Jumbo and Scorch, the hunter of Moga. All of them experienced something like this before already. And in each case, it turned out that they were hunting the wrong monster the whole time. In every case, the true enemy was something much, much more powerful: An elder dragon.

Thoren only heard about elder dragons in myths and legends. Powerful beings that were thought to be god-like creatures who could control nature. And Thoren knew, that Amjam, his grandfather slew one of those beats: Fatalis, the dragon of darkness. He didn't know everything about the fight, but one thing he knew: His grandfather was a real hero, highly respected amongst hunters. He didn't expect to reach such a status ever in his life. But he was proud to be related to such a man.

Thoren, Scorch, Aura and Brelian understood each other very well from the first hunt. They all showed great team work, especially the two shakalakas Scorch brought with him. He said that they accompanied him everywhere he was going. The story about them was pretty funny. He found Cha Cha being attacked by monsters on the deserted island, same counted for Kayamba, only that Kayamba was being attacked by a huge Duramboros, one of the most villainous beings Scorch ever saw.

Since the many hunts, these four (alright six, if Cha Cha and Kayamba counted) accomplished, their trusts grew more and more. And soon they became the best of friends.

Brelian was a talented great sword master, no rock could stand his tigrex sword, which he made himself after defeating one of those vile creatures that was being thought of causing chaos in the snowy mountains. His black hair and brown eyes matched very good to his yellow tigrex armor. He was a bit arrogant, but also very talented and serious when it came about helping his companions.

Aura was a young woman with pale skin, green eyes and dark ginger hair. She wore a light leather armor and a crossbow made from the scales of a shen gaoren, the probably biggest carapaceon type in the entire universe. Her charming but also sharp knowledge made her a very valuable ally. She was also very good for one or two jokes.

Scorch was probably the funniest guy Thoren ever met. During each hunt he managed to make overly sarcastic jokes about the behavior of monsters, and one time he even started making a live delex documentary in the sandy plains, while being accomplished by his two shakalaka companions, who somehow seemed to really dislike each other at some point. Scorch had dark brown hair and blue eyes, and currently he was wearing an armor crafted from the lagiacrus he once slew in Moga village. His favorite weapon was a lance, also crafted from the very same lagiacrus. Thoren himself was wearing a long sword. He just thought that this was the best weapon to be fast and effective at the same time, and his proud zinogre sword never disappointed him before.

After many hunts together, they finally found out what the true enemy and causer of the storms was: Amatsumagatsuchi, the dragon of storms. Thoren couldn't believe it. It was supposed to be only a story. But they all saw the best once. On one fatal night, an immense storm was striking on Yukumo, and there, the hunters saw the beast. It was flying in a high distance up above, but they still could see what it was. It was as pale as the moonlight, in fact, the dragon looked like a true incarnation of the storm itself. The two gigantic white wings, the golden horns that seemed to cast lightning and the roar. This immense, bestial roar Thoren would never forget in his entire life. The beast faded away before they could even do something about it.

And now they were here, on the top of the highest mountain. The upcoming clouds looked like it would be the strongest storm so far. The hunters immediately knew that something must be done. It took them a mere hour to get to the peak of the mountain, since the road wasn't very long, and for some unknown reason they encountered no monsters at all. It was almost as if they were waiting for something to happen.

Suddenly, Thoren saw something. In the far distant, a massive hurricane-like cloud was making its way over to the mountain. Inside the cloud, a strange light was glowing.

"Hey, guys!" Thoren called. Aura and Brelian looked up and came closer. When they saw the cloud, their faces became motionless. Then, after minutes of silence, Thoren interrupted it.

"He is here," he said.

"We must inform Scorch," Aura said; "Leave that to me!" She took out her crossbow, aimed into the sky, and fired. A huge glowing patron erupted from the crossbow and flew into the heavens, where it made a huge explosion.

"That'll do," she grinned.

Silently and motionless, Scorch watched the rocket patron exploding on the mountain summit. He slowly grinned and turned around.

"Alright chaps!" he called to the shakalakas; "Let's go!" But his call was meaningless again, since Cha Cha and Kayamba were arguing again, and it seemed, like this would be one of the worse arguments.

"Cha fought against oompa monstas, against many oompa monstas!" Cha Cha yelled.

"Kayamba slayed bigun greena Bruta wyvern! That is more than stupid oompa monstas!"

"Guys," Scorch said.

"Shut up servant!" Cha Cha yelled. This resulted in a huge face palm by Scorch.

"For the millionth time Cha Cha, I am NOT your servant! From where did you even get this idea?"

"He speaks trutha," Kayamba said; "For big hunter is Kayamba's servant!"

"No Kayamba, I am not your servant either, and now would you please stop arguing and get back on the air balloon, like seriously?" The two shakalakas looked at each other with envy, but then silently jumped on the air balloon.

"Why not instantly like that?" Scorch asked, shaking his head and entered the balloon as well.

"Cha Cha, you take the telescope, and Kayamba, you heat up," he said.

"Why does Kayamba need to heat up big air thinga?"

"Because Cha Cha did it last time. Now be a good boy and do as you're told please. This is very important here. I will make the cannon ready." Scorch looked at the small cannon standing at the front part of the balloon. It looked really ineffective, but that was only the appearance. Inside the cannon, there was an anti dragon bomb safely placed, just waiting to be released. If everything would work as planned, this mission would be over soon.

"Alright, three, two, one, go!" Scorch yelled. Kayamba started throwing coal into the small furnace, and the balloon started going up. Scorch took the steering wheel, and aimed for the large open space between the mountains. From there he would have a perfect glance. The small vehicle was moving on silently, apart from Kayamba's sighing and the burning coal. Scorch noticed that even the forest was silent. It was as if the monsters were really waiting for something to happen. And Scorch had the feeling he knew perfectly what it was.

"OOOMPA!" Cha Cha screamed.

"What is it?" Scorch asked and took the telescope. He looked into the direction Cha Cha was pointing to.

"Dear mother of Minnegard," Scorch whispered and gave the telescope back. He saw a gigantic, black, hurricane-like cloud coming towards them. But that wasn't all. There was a white glowing light inside the storm. And as he looked closer, he could see the shadow of something huge flying in the middle of the hurricane.

"Hello stormy," Scorch said. So this was him. Amatsumagatsuchi, the storm dragon. As if Ceadeus wasn't enough already. And of course he needed to be the one to lure the elder dragon to the mountain. And if the anti dragon bomb would work, the dragon might already be weakened when he would reach the mountain. He needed to try at least.

The cloud was coming closer and closer every second. And it seemed like it was going faster now. Then suddenly, Scorch heard an enormous roar bursting out of the cloud. It was the same roar they heard when they saw the flying creature during the stormy night. So this was really him.

Scorch needed to admit that he was a bit afraid. When he was fighting Ceadeus in the underwater ruins he surely had a very tough time, and it was not because the battle took place underwater and he only had a few portions of oxygen bottles with him. But the absolute scariest part was that the dragon started talking to him. Scorch thought that we would go crazy, but no. The elder dragon actually talked to him. And oh, the things he said to him. Scorch would never forget, especially not the last words before his ultimate demise.

"Uhm, huntaloompa?" Kayamba asked. Scorch didn't reply.  
"HUNTALOOMPA!" he yelled. Scorch looked up from his thoughts, and realized something horrible. They were inside the cloud.

"What the hell? How did THAT happen?" he yelled. But there was no time to explain. He quickly looked around. Surprisingly the light was gone. But the wind inside this cloud was the strongest one Scorch ever experienced in his entire life, even stronger than in the tundra. He needed to grab the end of the cannon in order not to fall off. He looked at his little companions. Kayamba was holding onto the cool part of the oven, while Cha Cha grabbed one of the ropes that kept the balloon together. The telescope was no longer there. Probably it got blown away. What a pity.

"DO NOT LET GO!" He screamed to overpower the loud wind.

"Man does not have to tell that to Cha-AAAAHHH!" Scorch looked back, and his heart froze. Right in front of the balloon, the beast came out of the clouds. It was enormous. The pale skin, the golden horns, the gigantic wings, the shape of a huge flying fish with scales, it was exactly as Scorch imagined him from near distance.

The black head with the yellow glowing eyes focused on the hunter. Scorch's heartbeat rose. Suddenly, the wind stopped, and everything became silent. The storm god started to circle the balloon, carefully observing everyone. When he finished circling he paused and looked at Scorch. Their glances met.

"Very well," the dragon said. His voice sounded like a huge tornado destroying a forest with thunder and lightning.

"Oh no, you too?" Scorch asked.

"Keep on joking little man," Amatsumagatsuchi said; "Keep on. This is your last hour anyway."

"Oh really? And what exactly makes you think that?"

"You come to my lair, you fly into my hurricane, and now you are facing me. I think that is already self-explanatory."

"And what makes you think we aren't armored?"

"Oh, just look at you. All you have is a small cannon and a few cats. Pathetic."

"We are not catsaloompas!" Kayamba said; "We shakalakas!"

"Whatever. You really do think that you can defeat me? ME, the dragon of storms?"

"Well, I already defeated the dragon of oceans, quite a tuff guy, I admit, but I really expected more."

"Ceadeus was weak. He was nothing more than a shadow. Now you are facing a true elder, and you will carry the consequences! FEEL MY WRATH!" And then without a further word, Amatsumagatsuchi rose far up into the heavens. Scorch could see that the dragon flew into the center of the hurricane and disappeared in the dark mist. Suddenly, a very loud noise started erupting from there.

"Oh no, not good," Scorch said. Then, the black mist turned into white glowing light.

"Not good at all!" he yelled. And before they could do anything else, an enormous, extremely hot beam of light casted down from the center of the hurricane. It struck the balloons back end and just disintegrated it into ashes. The balloon started shaking. And after a few more minutes, it started to fly down to the Earth.

"GRAB ONTO SOMETHING!" Scorch yelled. The shakalakas did as told. From a rear point of view Scorch saw the dragon rushing down after him. This was a chance. A very risky one but a chance. As fast as he could, Scorch grabbed the cannon and turned it around. Then without a further thought, he pressed the button that would release the bomb. A sound was heard and Scorch saw a barrel flying towards the dragon. The beast saw it and tried to dodge, but too late. The anti dragon bomb smashed into his left wing, and a huge explosion was heard, followed by screaming.

"HA! NOT ARMORED RIGHT?" Scorch yelled up. Then the balloon landed on a stony cliff. Thankfully it didn't fly down straight, or else they would have been porridge now. But the balloon itself was completely destroyed. This vehicle wouldn't go anywhere anymore.

"YOU PATHETIC MORTAL!" the dragon yelled; "YOU REALLY THINK THAT YOU CAN DEFEAT ME? I ALREADY LIVE THOUSANDS OF YEARS, AND THEN I SHOULD BELIEVE BEING DEFEATED BY AN INSECT?" The dragon came rushing back down, his eyes shooting lightnings now. That didn't look good at all.

"Kayamba had pleasure fighting monstas," Kayamba said.

"Cha Cha did too!" But just as the dragon almost reached the hunter, a sudden explosion could be heard from the mountain summit. Aura must have fired another rocket patron. The storm god looked at Scorch with pure hate in his eyes.

"Oh, it seems you have some friends up there," he said; "Now, let me give them a small taste of ancient wrath! of course I will not forget you." He slowly turned back and rushed towards the mountain.

"Good job guys!" Scorch yelled and turned to the shakalakas; "Now let's get down here."

**So, this was it for now. I would really appreciate reviews again, as you know. But of course I'm not forcing you. Alright then. The next chapter will be about the famous battle on the mountain summit of MHP3RD, which I know you all want to read! See you next time!**


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